Recently I bought the box set (8 episodes) of Harry Potter movies. I had seen the first one, The Sorcerer’s Stone twenty years ago when it came out and another one but all I remembered were some of the characters, the flying broomsticks and the deadly chess match. Not surprising that the magical, special effects prevail over the timeless dilemma of good versus evil. I had totally forgotten Professor Quirrell (with his head in a turban)and was caught unawares when the stammering professor emerged as the bad guy in the first episode. He had been possessed by the villain, Lord Voldemort who was under a spell of his own and could only manifest himself by taking over another person’s body.
Voldemort’s plan to regain his powers was to recruit the young wizard Harry to his cause; shades of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker from Star Wars. While in Prof. Quirrell’s body, Voldemort revealed himself (two faces on the same head) and informed Harry the fundamental truth of his shameless plot. He said, “There is no good and evil, only power and those too weak to seek it.”
Wow, I thought; sounds like Donald Trump! From his book The Art Of The Deal, Trump speaks to the reader’s lowest common denominator and affirms that having the balls to break the rules is not only good but that getting caught cheating is the only evil. Cheating is alright just don't get caught You must win at all cost (being seen as a loser is worse than being exposed as a liar and a cheat). I think that departure is where negotiable ambition gives way to the Slippery Slope. That (slippery slope) would be a semi load of dynamite skating on an icy overpass.
I remember wannabe wisdom from another time; All’s Fair In Love & War. Over the years it seems to have been modified; you throw out love & war as conditions and cast a bigger net; Everything is fair for any reason, anything goes, whatever you can get away with.
It took two sittings for me to get through The Sorcerer’s Stone. I didn’t want to miss the subtle nuance and with all of the magic, it was too much, went too fast for me. British audiences have a keen taste for the dark side and clamored for more. The up close, evil magic and its peril left American audiences divided between mild shock and religious outrage. Come to Jesus merchants castigated against wizards, spells, sorcerers, potions as if they were real and that all things magical were inspired by Satan.
It is interesting how that preoccupation with good and evil is fixed in every culture. Early western philosophers Epictetus & Marcus Aurelius both concluded that discerning between right and wrong depends on what people decide. Whatever it is that we can agree on, that’s it, the truth! When humans first started drawing drew that line (good & evil) they were guided by ignorance and myth. Greek and the Roman philosophers were in the same room but they were following logic when they reasoned; “There is neither good nor evil.” They reasoned since people make that distinction, it is their call. By simply believing this is right and that is wrong, they make it so; the thinking makes it so. In other words, Truth is not carved in stone. If you can all agree that GOOD is a BAD thing then it is. Correspondingly, BAD must be GOOD. Looking back, Flat Earth people were not wrong, the truth changed. It changes with both new discovery and fast talking bigots but memory is short when it makes us look stupid.
It has been twenty years since I first saw The Sorcerer’s Stone. Over the next decade seven more episodes would follow. I know who prevails in the end but still want to see it unfold with Harry and his friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. I wonder; if I let my beard grow and get a pointy hat they might take on another old professor mumbling and shuffling around Hogwarts? I could be the resident wizard of prophesy, keep telling the same made up stories until they become the truth. I would be fantastic on a flying broom.
Voldemort’s plan to regain his powers was to recruit the young wizard Harry to his cause; shades of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker from Star Wars. While in Prof. Quirrell’s body, Voldemort revealed himself (two faces on the same head) and informed Harry the fundamental truth of his shameless plot. He said, “There is no good and evil, only power and those too weak to seek it.”
Wow, I thought; sounds like Donald Trump! From his book The Art Of The Deal, Trump speaks to the reader’s lowest common denominator and affirms that having the balls to break the rules is not only good but that getting caught cheating is the only evil. Cheating is alright just don't get caught You must win at all cost (being seen as a loser is worse than being exposed as a liar and a cheat). I think that departure is where negotiable ambition gives way to the Slippery Slope. That (slippery slope) would be a semi load of dynamite skating on an icy overpass.
I remember wannabe wisdom from another time; All’s Fair In Love & War. Over the years it seems to have been modified; you throw out love & war as conditions and cast a bigger net; Everything is fair for any reason, anything goes, whatever you can get away with.
It took two sittings for me to get through The Sorcerer’s Stone. I didn’t want to miss the subtle nuance and with all of the magic, it was too much, went too fast for me. British audiences have a keen taste for the dark side and clamored for more. The up close, evil magic and its peril left American audiences divided between mild shock and religious outrage. Come to Jesus merchants castigated against wizards, spells, sorcerers, potions as if they were real and that all things magical were inspired by Satan.
It is interesting how that preoccupation with good and evil is fixed in every culture. Early western philosophers Epictetus & Marcus Aurelius both concluded that discerning between right and wrong depends on what people decide. Whatever it is that we can agree on, that’s it, the truth! When humans first started drawing drew that line (good & evil) they were guided by ignorance and myth. Greek and the Roman philosophers were in the same room but they were following logic when they reasoned; “There is neither good nor evil.” They reasoned since people make that distinction, it is their call. By simply believing this is right and that is wrong, they make it so; the thinking makes it so. In other words, Truth is not carved in stone. If you can all agree that GOOD is a BAD thing then it is. Correspondingly, BAD must be GOOD. Looking back, Flat Earth people were not wrong, the truth changed. It changes with both new discovery and fast talking bigots but memory is short when it makes us look stupid.
It has been twenty years since I first saw The Sorcerer’s Stone. Over the next decade seven more episodes would follow. I know who prevails in the end but still want to see it unfold with Harry and his friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. I wonder; if I let my beard grow and get a pointy hat they might take on another old professor mumbling and shuffling around Hogwarts? I could be the resident wizard of prophesy, keep telling the same made up stories until they become the truth. I would be fantastic on a flying broom.
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